Moon Phase Mechanism with Rotatable Planet Wheels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Classic moon phase indicators in watchmaking lack realism and aesthetic appeal, as the moon's inclination varies with its position in the window, resulting in an unrealistic and unengaging visual effect.
Innovation Solution
A moon phase mechanism where the moon representations are rotatable on the disc, with planet wheels integral to the disc and engaging with a sun gear, allowing them to rotate in the opposite direction, maintaining a fixed inclination relative to the 12 o'clock - 6 o'clock axis, and incorporating intermediate gears and toothing for precise angular synchronization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the moon phase disc rotates to show different positions of the moon, then the moon phase indication is complete, but the inclination of the moon varies according to its position in the window resulting in unrealistic visual effect
Solution Approach 1:
The moon representation is segmented from the moon phase disc, allowing independent rotation. The moon is mounted on a planet wheel that can rotate independently on the disc, enabling the moon's orientation to be controlled separately from its positional movement through the window.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of rotating the entire moon phase disc to change moon position (which also changes inclination), the invention inverts the approach by keeping the disc rotation for positional indication while adding an independent rotation mechanism for the moon itself. This allows the moon to maintain constant inclination while changing position.
2Device complexity
If the moon representation is fixed on the rotating disc, then the mechanism is simple, but the moon's inclination varies creating neither realistic nor aesthetic effect
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces dynamic rotation capability to the moon representation through planet wheels. The moon can dynamically adjust its orientation independently from the disc's positional rotation, transforming from a static fixed representation to a dynamically controllable one that maintains optimal visual appearance.
Solution Approach 2:
The moon representation is nested on the planet wheel, which itself is mounted on the moon phase disc. This nested structure allows the moon to rotate on its own axis (on the planet wheel) while the planet wheel rotates on the disc, creating independent rotational degrees of freedom without excessive complexity.
3Reliability
If intermediate gears are added to rotate the moon representations in the opposite direction, then the inclination can be maintained fixed, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The planet wheel acts as an intermediary between the moon phase disc and the moon representation. It mediates the rotation by providing an intermediate rotational stage that can reverse the direction of rotation through its engagement with the sun gear, while also serving as the mounting platform for the moon.
Solution Approach 2:
The planet wheel performs multiple functions: it carries the moon representation, provides the rotation mechanism, engages with the sun gear for directional control, and maintains the correct inclination angle. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated components for each function.
Data Source
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AI summary
The timepiece has two planetary wheels secured along the rotation with respect to the representations of the moon (19a). The planetary wheels are mounted on a moon phase disc (18) so as to move in rotation on the moon phase disc and engage indirectly with a sun pinion to form a planetary train with sun pinion.